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Tag: the Heroes’ Path

  • Romania, better represented on UNESCO’s World Heritage List

    Romania, better represented on UNESCO’s World Heritage List

    The monumental ensemble “The Heroes’ Path” (“Calea Eroilor”) created by Constantin Brâncuşi in Romania and the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, thus considered some of the most notable examples of public art. The sculptural ensemble in Târgu Jiu (southwest), comprising four works – “The Table of Silence”, “The Alley of Chairs”, “The Gate of the Kiss” and “The Infinity Column” – was designed and built by Constantin Brâncuşi over 1937-1938. These sculptural ensembles aligned on a 1.5 km-long surface area alongside the Boulevard of Heroes in Târgu Jiu are but some of Brâncuși’s works that are still in Romania. “This recognition compels us to protect the monumental ensemble, to keep it intact for future generations and for the cultural memory of humanity”, Culture Minister Raluca Turcan said.

     

    The second application greenlit by UNESCO concerns Roman fortifications (the so-called Danube Limes) erected along the northern border of the province of Dacia, totaling 277 sites from 16 counties. Part of the general defense system of the Roman Empire, the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia bear testimony to the expansion power of the Roman Empire through the consolidation of its northern borders. Extending over a thousand kilometers, it is the largest segment of Roman borders, including both land and river sectors.

     

    Constantin Brâncuşi was born in the small village of Hobita in Gorj County, but lived in Paris most of his life. He arrived in the French capital in 1904, after a long journey that took 18 months, and finally worked for the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. However, he left his workshop in 1907 saying that “nothing grows under big trees” and became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He bequeathed his workshop and part of his art to the French state upon his death in 1957. He wanted to leave his works to Romania, but the then communist government refused the offer. In 2023, the city of Timișoara (west) organized the first exhibition of the artist’s works in Romania in over 50 years. A separate, full exhibition of Brâncuși’s works also came to a close this month at the Pompidou Center in Paris.

     

    The latest additions to UNESCO’s World Heritage further enrich Romania’s presence on this list. The first to be recognized was the Danube Delta (1991) and then Villages with fortified churches from Transylvania (1993), the Churches from Moldova (1993, 2010), the Hurezi Monastery (1993), the Dacian Citadels from Orăştie Mountains (1999), the Historic Center of Sighişoara (1999), the Wooden Churches from Maramureş (1999), the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (2017) and the Roşia Montană Cultural Mining Landscape (2021). (VP)

     

  • Retracing the Roots of Constantin Brancusi

    Retracing the Roots of Constantin Brancusi


    Our destination today is in south-western Romania, at the foot of the Carpathians, on the banks of the Jiu River. The village of Hobita is the place where the Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi was born on February 19th, 1876. According to the latest census carried out in the commune that the village of Hobita is part of, Pestisani is now home to some 3,700 people. The new mayor of the commune Cosmin Pigui says that he started his term in office by running several cultural projects relating to Brancusi. Such projects, the mayor says, must be properly correlated with investments and activities that promote the tourist potential of the area.



    Cosmin Pigui: Brancusi is ours and that means we are extremely rich. Unfortunately, nothing much has been done in the commune of Pestisani to capitalize on this wealth, so we first need some serious infrastructure. We do benefit from the support of the county council and of the member of parliament that represent Gorj County. I believe that this year we will be able to start the building of the Hobita park. Also, we will pave with asphalt the road to the Constantin Brancusi memorial house. We also intend to include in the tourist circuit the school that Brancusi went to as a child, the village where his mother, Maria Diaconescu, was born, but also to promote the entire area, the other communes around. This is the place where the great Romanian sculptor was born, who left us a priceless legacy, in particular the Heroes’ Path ensemble in Targu Jiu. Also, I hope we will get some funding for Pestera Cioarei (Crow’s Cave) in Pestisani.



    Pestera Cioarei (Crow’s Cave) in the village of Borosteni is an important place, because it is the cave where one of the oldest settlements in Europe was found. Archaeological diggings have been conducted there ever since 1955. Here is the mayor of Pestisani again:


    The oldest human bones have been found in this cave, 120,000 year old. Also, archaeologists have found 50,000 year old adornments. Neanderthals did wear adornments, and such adornments were found in Pestisani. There are many things here and we can really do something special for our tourist infrastructure and develop the area, while at the same time promoting Brancusi. In the coming future I would like to organize a camping area here, for caravan trailers, and I have asked for the County Council’s support. We would like to have Hobita and Pestisani visible on the map of Romania, and every tourist who comes to us must be sure they can find here all the necessary conditions to have a good time and enjoy the surroundings. People have applied for funding to build guest houses. Currently there are some 40 rooms available, but in 2-3 years there will be 100.



    In Hobita, you will meet curator Doina Pana, who tells tourists about Constantin Brancusi and unknown events from his life:


    When he was in the third grade, he carved his name on his desk at school using a Swiss knife. He was punished by his teacher and locked in a hen house used for keeping rowdy children in isolation. He got upset and didn’t want to go back to school, so his mom had to take him to a different school in a nearby village. His father died when he was 9 years old. First, he started working in a small restaurant at the back of the train station. After two years, he got hired as a waiter in a bigger restaurant close to the centre of Craiova. One evening when he was 17 years old he made a wager with the restaurant owner and the clients that he can make a violin. He got hold of a small box used for keeping marmalade, boiled the wood, sculpted the violin and the restaurant owner brought in a fiddler to try on the instrument. The fiddler played it and said it was better than his own violin.



    In Targiu Jiu, tourists can visit the famous monumental ensemble The Heroes’ Path. The route starts with the Gate of the Kiss, a space believed to make the transition to a different world. The pillars of the gate feature the motif of the kiss, which can also take the form of an eye. This is one of Brancusi’s most important works. Further up visitors will find the Alley of the Chairs, which basically marks the path leading up to the Table of Silence, a peasant table. It appears, however, that Brancusi also saw it as the table before confrontation, before combatants go into battle and become heroes. These works in stone are very popular with tourists. Last but not least, visitors will find here the Endless Column, a genuine artistic testament of the great sculptor.



    This is a monument dedicated to heroes, just like the entire ensemble, says Oana Palos, a spokeswoman for the Gorj County Council:


    This is a very important tourist destination. The monumental ensemble of the Heroes’ Path, the work of the great sculptor Constantin Brancusi, is a landmark of the city of Targu Jiu. Targu Jiu and the Gorj county are part of city break tourist packages. Gorj county has a busy cultural agenda, with many cultural events that help promote tourism in the area. Visitors can enjoy the beauty of the landscape in Gorj and the local cuisine and take part in the activities held every year in Gorj. Summer, for example, is given over to folklore. One such event is the International Folklore Festival held every August, which attracts many participants from abroad. The festival lasts a few days and during this time the streets in the city host a parade of traditional costumes from different countries. In August and September we run a cultural programme dedicated to Brancusi’s legacy which has grown from one edition to the next to become an international success.



    Whether you stay in an agritourist guesthouse, in Targu Jiu or in the countryside, you should also make sure you visit the famous monasteries of Gorj, which we will talk about in one of our next travel programmes.